India sends envoy to crisis-hit Maldives

Male, Feb 10: As the crisis in Maldives deepened, India on Friday sent its special envoy to Male to assess the situation in the island where former President Mohamed Nasheed has been insisting that he was ousted in a coup.

M Ganapathi, Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry left for Male with a brief to assess the situation in the Indian Ocean atoll which has plunged into a crisis after the ouster of Nasheed.

"I have sent an envoy to Maldives to assess the situation," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters at the India-EU summit in New Delhi.

Singh said that it was his sincere hope that the matter can be resolved through peaceful dialogue.

"It will be our effort to use our influence in that direction," the Prime Minister said.

A Maldivian court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Nasheed, a day after his his supporters went on a rampage in the capital Male.